


Deliverance

by kmoaton



Series: Bingo Fills [12]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 04:47:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9966116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kmoaton/pseuds/kmoaton
Summary: Harry learns a few things and makes a choice.Written for Hurt/Comfort Bingo.  Prompt used - Forgiveness





	

The sudden silence and being pain-free caused Harry to open his eyes. He was surprised to discover he lying in the middle of a beautiful quidditch pitch. He could feel the warmth of the sun and a warm breeze as it ruffled his hair and the smell of grass filled his nose. Looking around, he saw an Asian man sitting on a bench. He was dressed in a very colorful kimono and his hair was pulled back into a ponytail. In his hand was a small bundle wrapped in a dark cloth. 

"I was wondering why you paused here. Your soul appears to be pure. Some people pass through without realizing it even exists."

Harry was still looking around in awe. "Everyone sees a quidditch pitch?" 

The stranger chuckled. "No. They see whatever makes them happiest. "

Harry started with another question but the bundle in the man's arms began to wiggle. The man cast a fond gaze on the moving cloth. "Strangely, this came through with you. I know now why you stopped here." Holding out the bundle, the man who had been warm and inviting gave a smile that reminded Harry of being dunked in that chilly water. 

"No. No thank you." Harry replied, taking a step back from the man and the weird bundle, a feeling of dread shivering down his spine. "Where am I?"

The man gave a sigh and bounced the bundle in his arms. "It really depends on your beliefs. Purgatory, perdition, limbo. Most people never stop here. But you, Harry Potter, are unique."

Frowning at the use of his name, Harry took another step back. "What do you mean?"

The man stood up and walked up to Harry before he could move. The stranger was surprising tall once he was directly in front of Harry. 

"You came with a passenger. That was unique." said the man as he began to walk around Harry, his dark eyes appearing to bore into Harry's soul. 

"What does that mean for me?" Harry frustrated at not getting any answers. 

The stranger gave a chuckle that sounded anything but happy. "Choices, Harry. You have choices."

Again, Harry stepped back, choosing instead to focus on the perfectness of the field instead of the man who was now creeping him out. After a moment of being ignored, the man shifted the bundle that was still in his arms. Once again he approached Harry again and held out the bundle. 

"Your passenger can go no further because he is not a whole soul." Without warning, the stranger thrust the screaming bundle into Harry's arms. 

"Look at him” He demanded. "He was a part of you for so long." 

Harry took the bundle with great trepidation. It was like small like a toddler but wiggled fiercely in Harry's arms, causing the covering to fall open. The wizened figure that was exposed almost caused Harry to drop it. The size of a small baby, the features was all Voldemort.

"What is this?" Harry demanded. 

Once again, that chilling grin returned to the stranger's face. "That, Harry Potter, is the soul shard that has lived in you since you were 15 months old. When you arrived here, it had to separate from you. A partial soul cannot pass through perdition."

For a long moment, Harry stared into the face of the bundle in his hands. He knew Voldemort had been looking for immortality but Harry couldn't help but wonder did he consider the consequences of his actions? He was a raving mad lunatic and even in death, would be denied peace. It was rather pathetic once Harry truly considered it. 

"Will he ever be able to move on?" 

"Perhaps, although not to a peaceful rest. He has done too much evil in the world. His soul won't be whole until all the pieces have been returned here. The tribunal will then decide what to do."

Harry was shocked. "There's a tribunal?"

The stranger gave a genuine laugh. "Of course. Souls that stop here have to be weighted. Some just need to let go of their past attachments and move forward. Others refuse to accept the fact that they are dead and refuse to leave. Some are borderline and those meet with the tribunal to judge the fate of their souls. Then you have those little ones like the one in your hands."

Harry could only blink, unsure of what was going on. "Voldemort had many soul pieces to ensure his immortality."

The stranger nodded. "Indeed and, that, dear Harry, is a crime against all of our laws. Souls are not meant to be divided up. His soul will be stuck here until they are all gathered. This is actually the second one we have received."

"A few years ago when I destroyed the diary." Harry surmised. 

"Yes." The stranger then took the bundle from Harry. "He will remain until all of his pieces become one."

Harry frowned. "Then what will happen?"

The stranger gave a savage smile that chilled Harry. "He has so many things to answer for. The tribunal has made it clear that he will repent before his soul is allowed to return to ANY earthly plane."

Harry looked back across the field at the entrance to the train station. "What about me now?"

The stranger stared at Harry for a moment. "You have choices, Harry, like I told you before."

"What choices?" Harry questioned, feeling like he was missing something very important. 

The stranger's face remained blank. "You can move forward, catch the train, and join your loved one or you could go back to whence you came."

Harry was stunned. He had the option of moving on, finally seeing his mother and father. He could be free of the fighting, the torment, and the sadness. 

_"But that would mean leaving Severus to deal with the aftermath and the Horcruxes."_

He could go back and continue the fight. The mini form of Voldemort stared at him with a mixture of longing and hatred. Harry realized that Voldemort's quest for immortality would lead him here, suspended in limbo, unable to move on until he atoned. He would be trapped in a hell of his own making for eternity.

"I'll go back. This is not my time."

ooOOoo

Harry's next conscience moment was awakening back in their rooms. Lanterns provided a dim light and Harry could hear the howling of the winds outside the walls. Severus, who was sitting bedside, pursuing ancient scrolls, noted his wakefulness.

"I see you have decided to join the land of the living." He said with a smirk but no trace of bitterness in his voice. "Would you like something to eat?"

Before Harry could find his voice, a loud rumble gave him away. Severus shook his head and left as Harry blushed. By the time Severus returned, Harry was sitting up, his body stiff and sore. Ignoring that for now, Harry tucked into a light meal of soup and grilled fish. Once complete, Severus banished the tray and assisted Harry out of bed. They slowly walked into a large bath with a steaming hot tub. "The waters contain potions that will help with the soreness you are feeling."

Shy about undressing in front of Severus again but too achy to care, Harry dropped the kimono and quickly moved into to waters. He couldn't contain the sigh that escaped his lips as he sank into the soothing waters up to his chin. Averting his eyes as Snape entered the warm waters, Harry waited until he settled before asking questions.

"What happened?"

Severus' face paled. "You died." he said bluntly. "For 10 minutes, your soul left this plane. I should be asking you what happened."

Harry was silent for a long moment, and then he told Severus everything he experienced. Severus was stunned.

"You chose to come back?"

Harry flushed redder that the water was causing. "I have unfinished business."

ooOOoo

The two remaining days were spent constructing a plan to find the remaining Horcruxes and destroying them. Harry wasn't eager to return to England but he knew there was no other way. The issue would be what they could use as a base of operations and who could they trust. He wasn’t sure if there would be any forgiveness left in him for his friends until he discovered their true role in his life. He definitely knew there would be no forgiveness for Dumbledore or any of the adults that helped make his life a living hell. Harry was no longer sure about the people he once trusted and he was certain that Severus never trusted them in the first place. Caution would be key but ultimately, this would be Harry and Severus facing Voldemort. 

He would have to rethink forgiving Severus. He had gone a long way to help him and while he now had Harry’s trust, he knew that it would be a while before he could truly say that he let the past completely go. Right now, Harry was dealing with the moment. For the first time in a long time, Harry had someone willing to fight for and with him and because of that, he felt a glimmer of hope.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the end of I guess what you could call the prologue to a story that has taken on a mind of its own. The continuation will be Snape/Harry story. I haven't determined how his relationships with his other people at Hogwarts will go, with the exception being Dumbledore. As I said, these things have a mind of their own. The title will not change but it will be a chapter fic.


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